The rantings of an ultra conservative Christian, who is constantly being put in my place by the "Big Guy". A wife, and mother of 4 who is rapidly approaching 30. Lover of shopping, chocolate, worship, and rocking the boat. Passionately wanting to follow God, wherever he leads me, but taking regular side roads, and experiencing my fair share of grace.
"Some people have to learn the hard way, and I'm the type of guy (gal) that has to find out for myself." ~DC Talk

Thursday, August 30, 2007

As a little girl, I had a pretty blue box, a bit bigger than a shoe box that I would keep my treasures in. Some things would stay in there for a season, some forever. I put in my VERY favorite books, cassette tapes, articles, and of course, my dairy.

I don't have that blue box anymore ( I tossed it after I had kids... I didn't want any "mamma before she was mamma" incidents, but my desire to cling on to my favorites has not changed.

So what am I into right now? So glad you asked because I was going to share anyway ( ;

The new Johnny Lang CD, Turn Around. It is SO good. The guy is like 21, became a famous Blues artist at 16, and got saved! His CD is pretty much about his faith and it ROCKS!

When the Day of Evil Comes by Melanie Wells. This is easily my favorite Christian fiction novel. I literally couldn't stop reading it until it was finished, it was THAT suspenseful. I highly suggest you get yourself a copy, BUT don't start it until you can devote the rest of the day to finishing it. Her sequel Soul Hunter was every bit as good (maybe better), so you might as well pick than one up while you are at it. My only complaint; Mrs. Wells does not write fast enough! I can't WAIT for #3.

Created to be his Helpmeet Debbie Pearl. OK, I must admit, at first I HATED this book, but the more I read it the more I realized it was biblical truth, and as I applied it to my own marriage, I saw AMAZING results. This is NOT a feel good book. This is an in your face, tell it like it is battering of conviction. Like boot camp, it wasn't fun, but I learned so much in a very short time... and it DEFINITELY changed my marriage for the better. A MUST READ! Just calm down and pray about what you read before you send me nasty e-mails for suggesting it. ( ;

Nars has this blush, and it has a "naughty" name that I won't mention here, but the stuff is gorgeous! Pricey, yes, overindulgent yes... but it makes your skin look SO pretty. You can buy it at my favorite store in the world Sephora.

Quorn. It's a super protein, soy free, meat substitute. I'm not a big meat eater, and I DON'T do soy products (that stuff is dangerous in my opinion) so it's nice to have a healthy alternative. Especially one so tasty! This get my vote for the best health food product on the market!

So there you have it! These are my newest discoveries, worthy of my blue treasure box (that is decaying under tons of garbage in a landfill somewhere... but that's besides the point). So, be sure to check them out, and share yours too! You never know when I'll find a new favorite, it just might be one of yours!

I dedicate this post to my fellow bloggers who helped me finally figure out the link thingy!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

We are still church hopping here over in my neck of the woods. I'm starting to think we're going to have to settle. We DID find a great church for us (two of them in fact) but they were in a neighboring town, over 45 minutes a way. It just seemed like it would be too hard to be an active member of the body when we live so far away.Now we have been looking locally at one church pretty seriously. We like a lot about it, so I did my typical (call and grill the pastor to make sure there is nothing goofy). You would be surprised to know how many churches actually think the bible rules don't apply to them.After a nice conversation I brought out the fundamentalist" big guns" abortion and homosexuality. Now here is where I got caught up a bit, He said that while they believe what the bible says, and homosexuality is wrong, they welcome practicing homosexuals into their congregation. No, they do not preach to them about it nor ask them to change because they want to first develop a relationship with them and hope someone might council them at a later date.My reply was "Would you let a man who is cheating on his wife bring his mistress to church and not call him on it?" "Oh, no, of course not, we'd follow biblical procedures A, B and C." It sounded a bit like a double standard to me and made my conservative self shudder.After I hung up and I talked with my hubby we resolved to NOT attend the church. Now I have been thinking... am I too harsh? What if I had a close homosexual relative? Wouldn't I want the opportunity to bring them to church and lead them to God? Maybe I'm being brainwashed by the Liberal influences around me... I don't know!!! What would that be saying to my kids if we attended a church that looked the other way? What about people who show up high on drugs, or drunk, or weigh 300 pounds from their gluttonous out of control life style? Should we say, "I'm sorry mam, you can't attend this church unless you stop stuffing your face with donuts." A sin is a sin. AHHH!What do y'all think? ~Karlie

Monday, August 27, 2007

Maybe I should have waited a week on that flaky blogger post, 'cause obviously I wasn't ready to quit being flaky! Actually. we've just been REALLY busy. The boys started soccer, and my hubby's coaching. We had a huge barbecue with my husbands bank that was NOT a potluck because he told everyone that I would provide the food. So, I've been making cobblers and salads for 30. Then we took a fantastic weekend trip (just the two of us).

We went white water rafting and had a blast! The highlights were the EXTREME fun I had on the level 3 rapids, the great scenery, and the water fights we had with the other rafts. The downside, I ALMOST fell out (like hanging on with one arm)... not that it would be the end of the world, but the river is REALLY cold, and it just wasn't that fun. The other downside; we had a mega bimbo on the boat. I kept praying she would fall out, but no such luck.

We stayed at a great resort right on the river. I cheated on my diet (I'm down 12 pounds now... or at least I was before this weekend) and ate homemade ravioli, peanut butter pie, and Pina Coladas. We also ran into some old friends.

Between the trip, the barbecue, soccer, getting ready to start homeschool and a goodbye party, I've been too busy to blog, or visit blogs or clean my house. With that said, I start school next week, and I am again behind in laundry, so if I do spend time blogging this week, it's because I'm procrastinating my chores, which probably means, I'll be on here a lot. Procrastination is one of my gifts ( ; ~Karlie

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Rhen over at http://yestheyareallmine.wordpress.com/ tagged me with this interesting marriage meme (I still don't know what meme stands for). I'd never seen one like it, so I thought I'd give it a shot!

1. My husband and I met in high school. I was 15; he was 16.

2. We married right after high school graduation (but moved in together my Junior year)

3. My husband came from a very poor family, while mine was quite "comfortable". Interestingly, he has a far better work ethic than I do. I'm still expecting that silver platter.

4. We eloped in a 7th Day Adventist church (my husbands side of the family are Adventist), and the pastor said he wouldn't pronounce us man and wife unless we admitted to being sinners for having premarital sex. WHOA. I was NOT a Christian at the time, and let me tell you I was MAD! The naughty things I said about that pastor for the next few months... Honestly, even now that I've found the Lord, I still hate the guy.

5. My husband worked two jobs and put himself through college, while I had our first daughter... AND stayed home with her. I would only see him a few hours a week, but it has paid off. He has a great career and I am STILL home with my babies.

6. When I met my husband, he had long hair, and a nose ring! I had hair past my waist and wore hippie dresses (what can I say, it was a phase). I used words like Chronic and Humboldt, and was a BIG fan of Keasey (if ya know what I mean; if you don't GOOD for you).

7. We both found the Lord with the birth of our first daughter, and drastically changed for the better. We both share the same passions, God our kids, and each other.

8. Our marriage is strong, for many reasons; but I think the best part is that we both love to have fun. We are always taking little (and BIG) adventures. We laugh at EVERYTHING, and even after nearly 12 years of marriage, we still prank call each other. We both are a bit off our rocker, and that suits us just fine... he gets me.

Ah, now after writing this, I'm going to have to go love on my husband... I'm a lucky girl!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Today I heard God. I've had a bit of a dry spell lately with the Spirit. Sure, I heard the bit about homeschool, but it was more of God speaking through others to me than me actually talking to the Big Guy. Sometimes he's gotta do it that way because of my thickheadedness.

Oh, but this morning while I was in prayer, I pressed in to the spirit, and ... I met with a friend I haven't visited with in awhile! It was like old times. Sure we've "corresponded"; but today, I "hung out" with my father!I just had to share something he told me! So, as I was in prayer, I was asking him where he had been; why do I labor over certain prayers for so long with no answer; only confusion? Why couldn't I communicate with him like I used to? As I prayed this I felt prompted to call out "Teach me your way Oh Lord" Psalm 27:11 .

This is where I saw a vision (non Charismatics might want to bolt about now) and I saw myself walking along a path. I heard God whisper " this is the path to righteousness, the path to God." I couldn't walk forward because the entire path was littered with books, for as far as I could see. I had to sweep the books off the path, then hand them over to God. As I looked down at the books I saw they were all my Christian "self help" books. Books on parenting, dieting, prayer, marriage, you name it. And then it clicked. I have been turning to these books for the answer, NOT God. I have been reading someone else's interpretation of God's word, and not going directly to the source.

While many of these books were obviously written by an anointed author, they were not intended to take the place of God's word. Many of the books conflicted each other, and even more of them conflicted God's word; yet I'd read them far more than I pressed into prayer. These books were blocking my communication with God.

So, it's time to lay the books aside. Bring out my old trusty bible. Dig out my favorite worship Cd's, and spend some time in the presence of my God. Ah, it's good to be back where I belong.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Well, we've made our decision as to what we are going to do about the kids schooling next year. We spent a good portion of the Summer praying for God's direction, and heard nothing. It was so frustrating. About half way through July, we hesitantly decided to put the kids back in school. I guess we were getting a bit tired of waiting on God. We were so unclear about our direction that we figured it would be easier to pull them out half way through the year than put them back in. I told my friends, my family, the kids. I was even about to tell my blogger friends when I finally heard from God. I guess we should have waited because God had a different plan. We felt God told us that we were indeed to homeschool, and he sent two BIG confirmations following his word. So there you have it. Wanting to follow God's will, we will be homeschooling next year. Now for the confession part. I was REALLY looking forward to putting them in school. I know my kids were only in PS 6 weeks, but my house became so much cleaner, finding time to exercise was so much easier. I didn't feel like I was always running around trying to get everything done because my little mess makers were gone. I could get my hair done, go out for lunch with my husband, meet a friend for coffee. Oh, and I had uninterrupted quiet time; that was so nice. On the flip side, while the kids were gone, I might have been off duty, but so much more was required of me during their home time. School is definitely a battlefield, and we must pray, equip, pray, talk, and pray in order to make it through. I've met some awesome Christian parents who DO make it work, but I don't doubt for a second their increased prayer labor. I have so much more respect for these families and for their children; they choose to follow God rather than the world that is literally bombarding them 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. It takes a special child, and the Holy Spirit. To try to make it through with out God's blessing, well, that isn't something I'm willing to gamble with; no matter how badly I want a spotless house and some alone time. Now, the battle is changing my attitude. I'm finding it difficult to get excited about curriculum. I went to a homeschool support group planning meeting and just sat there and didn't say a word (those who know me, know that defies who I am.... I'm a talker, with lots of ideas, who won't shut up unless bribed with dessert ( and that's only while I'm swallowing). I just sat there thinking "I so don't want to be here". I don't want to purchase curriculum, I don't want to clean my house, I don't want to be a part of the homeschool group. Do ya think I'm pouting? I think I'm going to add "being a big baby" to my hobbies list on my profile. I even cried to my husband the other day " You know this is a huge sacrifice, 'cause the house will never be clean again (sob), and I'm gonna get SO fat (sob), and I'll have no friends (sniff), and I gonna buy flowery jumpers and shirts with doily collars (WAHHH)" this is where I fall onto the bed and bawl and my husband asks me if it's that time of month. I did however get a non consequential back rub out of it. I finally snapped out of my mini depression enough to get the house moderately clean again, and I pulled down my huge Rainbow Resource catalog; and ripped it up and burned it! Kidding, only kidding. I haven't opened it yet, but it's on the table ( I'm taking baby steps). I am praying that God continues to soften my heart, and equip me to accomplish what I need too, regardless of my emotions.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Have you ever noticed that there are some thing's that you can say to your husband, that he could never say to you. Things that would cause you to freak out, have a teary fit, and unless you are an amazingly mature woman (which I am not) cut off sex for the week. Luckily I have a remarkable (and smart) husband, and not a single one of these phrases has ever been uttered to me (and lucky for him too; ha ha). I can not however claim the same honorable behavior. While most of these things have not been said to him, I must admit to a few, #s 1, 8, and 10 more than once). No wonder his nickname for me is Evil Wife (said in love of course… I hope).

10 Things You Can Say To Your Husband, But He Better NOT Say To You

1.Oh, look at your cute belly; have you been eating extra snacks lately?

2.Maybe we should wax your butt hair.

3.Ew, you need to shave your prickly whiskers

4.Time to get new pants; can you even breathe in those?

5.I think hair loss makes you look more mature.

6.Whew, how long are you going to be in there... Smells like something died?

7.Want me to tweeze your nose hair for you?

8.You take those dirty clothes off before you come in this house!

9.You just don’t clean it right.

10.I’m too tired, maybe tomorrow night

BTW... I finally cleaned my house. It took 4 hours of hard core manual labor to get it looking like normal. Whew, I think I'll keep to the everyday maintenance from here on out.